Mobile device alternate network channels

ABSTRACT

Various arrangements for managing network channels are presented. A backend system may receive data from one or more data sources. The backend system may determine, based at least in part on the data received from the one or more data sources, a triggering event and a location related to the triggering event. The backend system may transmit, to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), first location data associated with the location related to the triggering event. The backend system can receive, from the UAV, network congestion information associated with a connection between one or more devices and the UAV. Based at least in part on the network congestion information, the backend system may send second location data to the UAV.

BACKGROUND

Many user devices are used every day to connect to the Internet. As moredevices are connected to the Internet, various network channels utilizedto establish those Internet connections may become congested. Whennetwork channels because congested data speeds and data reliability maybe greatly reduced. Thus, there is a need to provide a mobile devicecapable of providing alternate network channels to relieve congestednetwork channels.

SUMMARY

Various embodiments are described related to a method for managingnetwork channels. In some embodiments, a method for managing networkchannels is described. The method may comprise receiving, at a backendsystem, data from one or more data sources. The method may comprisedetermining, based at least in part on the data received from the one ormore data sources, a triggering event and a location related to thetriggering event. The method may comprise transmitting, to an unmannedaerial vehicle (UAV), first location data associated with the locationrelated to the triggering event. The method may comprise receiving, fromthe UAV, network congestion information associated with a connectionbetween one or more devices and the UAV. The method may compriserelaying, by the UAV, data between the one or more devices and a firstnetwork access point. The first network access point may not beaccessible by the one or more devices directly. The method may comprisetransmitting, based at least in part on the network congestioninformation, second location data to the UAV. The first location dataand second location data may indicate two distinct locations.

Embodiments of such a method may include one or more of the followingfeatures: one or more data sources may comprise a second network accesspoint servicing a region. The second network access point may provide abroadband cellular connection to the region. The data from one or moredata sources may comprise a number of concurrent network connections fora data source of the one or more data sources, a number of devices in aparticular area, or a current bandwidth associated with a data source ofthe one or more data sources. The triggering event may be determined atleast in part on a number of concurrent network connections for a datasource of the one or more data sources. The second location data may beassociated with a second triggering event. Network congestioninformation may comprise a number of concurrent network connections forone or more data sources of a plurality of data sources, a number ofconcurrent network connections to the UAV, a number of devices in aparticular area, or a particular time of day.

In some embodiments, a system for managing network channels isdescribed. The system may comprise an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) thatrelays wireless communications between one or more devices and a firstnetwork access point (AP). The network AP may not be accessible by theone or more devices directly. The system may comprise a backend serversystem that communicates with the UAV. The backend server system may beconfigured to determine, based at least in part on the data receivedfrom the one or more data sources, a triggering event and a locationrelated to the triggering event. The backend server system may beconfigured to transmit, to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), firstlocation data associated with the location related to the triggeringevent. The backend server system may be configured to receive, from theUAV, network congestion information associated with a connection betweenthe one or more devices and the UAV. The backend server system may beconfigured to transmit, based at least in part on the network congestioninformation, second location data to the UAV. The first location dataand second location data may indicate two distinct locations.

Embodiments of such a method may include one or more of the followingfeatures: the one or more data sources may comprise a second accesspoint servicing a region. The second access point may provide abroadband cellular connection to the region. The data from one or moredata sources may be selected from the group consisting of a number ofconcurrent network connections for a data source of the one or more datasources. The data from one or more data sources may be selected from thegroup consisting of a number of devices in a particular area. The datafrom one or more data sources may be selected from the group consistingof a current bandwidth associated with a data source of the one or moredata sources. The triggering event may be determined at least in part ona number of concurrent network connections for a data source of the oneor more data sources. The second location data may be associated with asecond triggering event. Network congestion information may compriseinformation selected from the group consisting of a number of concurrentnetwork connections for one or more data sources of a plurality of datasources. Network congestion information may comprise informationselected from the group consisting of a number of concurrent networkconnections to the UAV. Network congestion information may compriseinformation selected from the group consisting of a number of devices ina particular area, and a particular time of day.

In some embodiments, a non-transitory processor-readable medium isdescribed. The non-transitory processor-readable medium may compriseprocessor-readable instructions configured to cause one or moreprocessors to receive data from one or more data sources. The one ormore processors may determine, based at least in part on the datareceived from the one or more data sources, a triggering event and alocation related to the triggering event. The one or more processors maycause first location data associated with the location related to thetriggering event to be transmitted to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).The one or more processors may process network congestion informationreceived from the UAV that may be associated with a connection betweenone or more devices and the UAV. The one or more processors may causesecond location data to be transmitted to the UAV based at least in parton the network congestion information. The first location data andsecond location data may indicate two distinct locations.

Embodiments of such a method may include one or more of the followingfeatures: the one or more data sources comprises an access pointservicing a region. The access point may provide a broadband cellularconnection to the region. The data from one or more data sources may beselected from the group consisting of a number of concurrent networkconnections for a data source of the one or more data sources. The datafrom one or more data sources may be selected from the group consistingof a number of devices in a particular area. The data from one or moredata sources may be selected from the group consisting of a currentbandwidth associated with a data source of the one or more data sources.The triggering event may be determined at least in part on a number ofconcurrent network connections for a data source of the one or more datasources. The second location data may be associated with a secondtriggering event.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of variousembodiments may be realized by reference to the following figures.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a network in accordance with one ormore embodiments described herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example UAV and device in accordance with one ormore embodiments described herein.

FIG. 3 depicts a first regional map in accordance with one moreembodiments described herein.

FIG. 4 depicts a second regional map in accordance with one or moreembodiments described herein.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example process in accordance with one or moreembodiments described herein.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example process in accordance with one or moreembodiments described herein.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example computer system in accordance with one ormore embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments described herein generally relate to providing an alternatenetwork channel for one or more user devices. More specifically,embodiments described herein disclose an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)such as a drone, receiving data packets from one or more user devicesusing a first network channel over a first network connection andsending the received data packets using the first network channel over asecond network connection to an access point. The access point may be adevice that allows connection to one or more networks such as a 4Gnetwork, 5G network, WiFi network, and the like. The UAV may provide,over the second network connection, a direct line of sight wirelessconnection to the access point. The direct line of sight wirelessconnection may provide a faster and more reliable data connection thanif a user device directly connected to an access point directly. In manyinstances, when a user device directly connects to an access point asignal being transmitted on that connection often may have interferencefrom objects within an environment. For example, when a mobile cellulardevice directly connects to a 4G access point, the signal to the 4Gaccess point may have to traverse certain objects in the environmentsuch as building, trees, and the like. When the signal traverses theseobjects and other objects in the environment, data speed and datareliability may be compromised. Conversely, when there is direct line ofsight to an access point, a signal may travel to that access pointunmitigated and thus data speed and data reliability are increased. Thisis especially critical when using higher frequency signaling.

In one embodiment, a backend system may deploy a UAV to a location thatis experiencing network congestion. The backend system may detectnetwork congestion based on one or more triggering events. For example,a triggering event may be data speeds associated with one or more accesspoints dropping below a certain threshold or erroneous connections(e.g., denied connections) associated with the one or more access pointsrising above a certain threshold. The location of the triggering eventmay be determined using triangulation of the one or more access pointsor by other means. In one embodiment, the location of the triggeringevent may be indicated by a monitoring mechanism capable of detectingthe location one of more user devices (e.g., a GPS-based system).

The backend system may determine one or more characteristics of thetriggering event. One or more characteristics may include user devicetypes (e.g., cellular phones, computers, tablets) associated with thetriggering event, a number of user devices associated with the triggerevent, one or more network channels associated with the triggering event(e.g., 4G, 5G, WiFi), duration of the triggering event, data speedsassociated with the triggering event, data reliability associated withthe triggering event, and the like. Based upon the location and one ormore characteristics associated with the triggering event, the backendsystem may determine a UAV to deploy. For example, in one embodiment,different UAVs may be used to relieve congestion for different networkchannels. In such an example, a first UAV type may be outfitted with 5Gradios and antennas and is capable of relieving congestion for 5Gnetworks/access points, a second UAV type may be outfitted with 4Gradios and antennas and is capable of relieving congestion for 4Gnetworks/access points, and a third UAV type may be outfitted with 3Gradios and antennas and is capable of relieving congestion for 3Gnetworks/access points. In one embodiment, a UAV may be outfitted withone or more radios and antenna types. In one embodiment, multiple UAVsmay be deployed to a location depending on the severity of the networkcongestion.

Once deployed to a location, the UAV may establish a connection with oneor more user devices. The UAV may be then serve as a bridge/repeater andforward data packets received from the one or more user devices to acorresponding access point. Thus, instead of a plurality of user devicesin a location all directly connecting to an access point, some of thoseuser devices may instead connect to the UAV and the UAV may then provideconnection to the access point. The UAV may also have direct line ofsight to the access point and provide faster data speeds than can beachieved with a direct connection between a user device and the accesspoint. As a result, the UAV may not only decrease the concurrentconnections to an access point (which increases data reliability), butalso increase data speeds between user devices and the access point. TheUAV may transmit to the back end system network information such as dataspeeds and data reliability metrics. The backend system may receive thenetwork information and determine if additional UAVs may be needed to bedeployed to the location to provide additional congestion relief.

The solutions described herein provide increased data reliability anddata speeds within data connections (e.g., broadband networks andcellular networks). When a user device, such as a cellular phone,connects to an access point, such as a 4G base station, 5G base station(e.g., eNodeB), a WiFi access point, and the like, often times thesignal from the user device will have to propagate through manyobstructions to reach the access point. In such an instance, thesignal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) or the signal-to-noise(SNR) ratio may decrease due to the signal propagating throughobstructions and the distance between the user device and the accesspoint. By utilizing a UAV, a user device may transmit a signal to theUAV and the UAV may transmit a signal to the access point with a directline of sight. In some embodiments, the distance between the user deviceand the UAV is less than the distance between the user device and theaccess point, which improves the SNR due at least to a reducedcommunication distance. Furthermore, the UAV may be located over variousobstructions (e.g., trees and buildings). By being located over variousobstructions the UAV may have direct line of sight to an access pointand the SNR may further be improved because signals between the UAV andthe access point may be transmitted in air without obstructions.

In addition to a data speed increase, data reliability may also beincreased by the solutions provided herein. In congested situations asingle access point may receive too many connection requests from userdevices. In such an instance, the access point may begin to rejectconnection requests or drop existing connections, which may lead to dataloss and a decline in data reliability. By using the UAV to relieve theconcurrent connections to the access point, data reliability may beimproved by reducing the load on the access point. Other improvementsmay be realized from solutions provided herein. For example, a UAV mayprovide a connection to a first network (e.g., a 4G network) for aparticular location, while access point(s) provide a connection to asecond network (e.g., 5G network) for a particular area. In such anexample, using a UAV would expand the coverage and network types of aparticular location.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a computer network 100. Computernetwork 100 may include mobile device 102, backend system 104, accesspoint 106, location 108, and network 120. Mobile device 102 may be anunmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), such as a drone. Mobile device 102 maycomprise one or more propellers (e.g., standard propellers, pusherpropellers, and the like), one or more motors (e.g., brushless motor,brushed motor, and the like), landing gear, one or more electronic speedcontrollers (ESC), a flight controller, one or more transceivers, a GPSmodule, one or more batteries, one or more network communicators, and/orone or more cameras. Mobile device 102 may be a fully autonomous UAVsuch that the UAV may autonomously fly to a particular location based onlocation information such as GPS coordinates. Upon reaching a particularlocation, mobile device 102 may establish, via a network communicator, aconnection with one or more of devices 110-114. The networkcommunicators may be implemented by a system-on-a-chip (SoC) or otherhardware device that enables communication via a particular networkchannel (e.g., 2.4 Ghz WiFi connection, 5 Ghz, WiFi connection, 3Gconnection, 4G connection, 5G connection). In some embodiments, themobile device may receive data via a first network channel, such as 2.4Ghz WiFi, from one or more of user devices 110-114 and transmit the datato access point 106 via a second network channel, such as 5G. Such anembodiment, may be implemented when there is high congestion associatedwith a first network channel and lower congestion associated with asecond network channel.

Backend system 104 comprises backend processor 116 and device database118. Backend system 104 may provide data packets to mobile device 102and, in some embodiments, determine one or more locations associatedwith mobile device 102. For example, backend system 104 may detect oneor more triggering events associated with one or more of devices 110-114and in response transmit GPS coordinates to mobile device 102. Backendprocessor 116 may include one or more special-purpose or general-purposeprocessors. Such special-purpose processors may include processors thatare specifically designed to perform the functions detailed herein. Suchspecial-purpose processors may be ASICs or FPGAs which aregeneral-purpose components that are physically and electricallyconfigured to perform the functions detailed herein. Suchgeneral-purpose processors may execute special-purpose software that isstored using one or more non-transitory processor-readable mediums, suchas random access memory (RAM), flash memory, a hard disk drive (HDD), ora solid state drive (SSD).

Device database 118 may comprise one or more non-transitoryprocessor-readable mediums, such as random access memory (RAM), flashmemory, a hard drive disk (HDD), or a solid state drive (SSD). Devicedatabase 118 may store data associated with one or more of devices110-114. For example, device database 118 may store a connection data ofone or more devices 110-114. Connection data may indicate one or moreprotocols and/or network channels that are compatible with a particulardevice. For example, device 110 may be compatible with 4G and 5G. Device112 may be compatible with WiFi, 3G, and 4G. The connection data may beutilized to determine a protocol that may be utilized by mobile device102 to connect to devices 110-114. Once a first connection betweenmobile device 102 and one or more of devices 110-114 is established, asecond connection between mobile device 102 and access point 106 isestablished.

Access point 106 may be a device that is utilized to connect to one ormore networks. For example, access point 106 may be a base station or aneNodeB that is capable of connecting to a 3G, 4G, or 5G network. Inanother example, access point 106 may be a WiFi access point, such as amodem or a router. In one embodiment, access point 106 may be comprisedof one or more radios and antennas that are capable of connecting to theone or more networks. For example, access point 106 may be a basestation with 3G, 4G, and/or 5G radios and antennas. Access point 106 mayserve one or more locations. For example, access point 106 may provide3G, 4G, and/or 5G networks and services to location 108. Devices 110-114may connect to a network by directly connecting to access point 106.Devices 110-114 may connect to a network by indirectly connecting toaccess point 106 via mobile device 102.

Devices 110-114 may be various devices capable of establishing a networkconnection via access point 106. In one embodiment, devices 110-114 maybe a laptop, smartphone, computing device, and the like. For example,device 110 may be an iPhone®, device 112 may be a desktop computer, anddevice 114 may be a smart sensor that is part of a narrow band Internetof Things (NB-IoT) network. Devices 110-114 may be mobile devices thatare capable of being transported to different locations. Each of thesedifferent locations may be serviced by a different access point.

Mobile device 102 may communicate with backend system 104 via network120. Network 120 may be a 4G, 5G, or other broadband cellular/satellitenetwork. In one embodiment, backend system 104 may send one or more GPSlocations associated with one or more locations to mobile device 102 vianetwork 120.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a block diagram of UAV 202 anddevice 204. UAV 202 comprises location system 224, camera system 206,aerial propulsion system 208, processing and communication system 210,battery 212, device storage 214, first network communicator 216, andsecond network communicator 218. UAV 202 may represent mobile device 102as depicted in FIG. 1. Location system 224 may include a GPS system thatmay communicate with one or more satellites (or other network) toprovide location information associated with UAV 202. Locationinformation may be utilized by UAV 202 to determine proximity to device204. For example, UAV 202 may need to be within a certain physical rangeof device 204 in order to implement one or more communication protocolssuch as WiFi. Location system 224 may be utilized for navigationsubsequent to a take-off procedure of UAV 202.

Camera system 206 may include one or more cameras. For example, camerasystem 206 may include digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR), aninfrared camera, a depth camera, and the like. These various cameratypes may be utilized to capture information about device 204. Forexample, a DSLR camera may be used to capture a picture of one moredevices at a particular location.

Aerial propulsion system 208 may include devices that aid UAV 202 inflight. Aerial propulsion system 208 may include propellers (e.g.,standard propellers, pusher propellers, and the like), one or moremotors (e.g., brushless motor, brushed motor, and the like), landinggear, one or more electronic speed controllers (ESC), a flightcontroller, one or more transceivers, and the like.

Processing and communication system 210 may include one or moreprocessors and one or more communication interfaces. The one or moreprocessors may perform, via executing code stored in memory, one or morefunctions described herein. The one or more communication interfaces maybe utilized to communicate via a wireless connection to device 204 viafirst network communicator 216. The one or more communication interfacesmay also be utilized to communicate via a broadband cellular networkwith a backend system to receive data associated with device 204, suchas a firmware update for device 204.

Battery 212 may provide power to one or more devices of UAV 202. Forexample, battery 212 may provide power to one or more components ofaerial propulsion system 208 in order to propel UAV 202. Battery 212 maybe rechargeable or non-rechargeable battery. In one embodiment battery212 may be recharged via a wired or wireless connection.

Device storage 214 may store data associated with device 204. Devicestorage 214 may store data that has been previously received by UAV 202.Data associated with device 204 may include, software updates, firmwareupdates, a self-diagnosis executable file, or one or more otherexecutable instructions or software. In addition, data associated withdevice 204 may include one or more communication protocols that arecompatible with device 204. For example, device 204 may be WiFicompatible only. Using this information, UAV 202 may communicate withdevice 204 via a WiFi-based protocol. In another example, device 204 maybe 3G and 4G compatible. Using this information UAV 202 may communicatewith device 204 via a 3G or 4G network channel.

First network communicator 216 may be a system-on-a-chip (SoC) or otherhardware device that enables communication via a first network channelto device 204. In one embodiment, first network communicator 216 mayenable UAV 202 to communicate with device 204 over a broadband cellularnetwork protocol.

Second network communicator 218 may be an SoC or other hardware devicethat enables communication via a second network channel to an accesspoint. In one embodiment, second network communicator 218 may enable UAV202 to communicate with an access point over a satellite network. In oneembodiment, UAV may connect with device 204 over a first network channeland connect with an access point over a second network channel. In suchan embodiment, the first and second network channel may be the samenetwork channel or different network channels. For example, the firstnetwork channel may be a WiFi channel and the second network channel maybe a 4G channel.

Device 204 comprises a first network communicator 220, processing andcommunication system 222, and second network communicator 226. Firstnetwork communicator 220 may be a system-on-a-chip (SoC) or otherhardware device that enables communication between one or more devices.The first network communicator 220 may enable device 204 to communicatewith one or more devices within the same network according to a firstprotocol. For example, the first network communicator may allow device204 to communicate with other devices over a broadband cellular network.

Processing and communication system 222 may include one or moreprocessors and one or more communication interfaces. The one or moreprocessors may perform, via executing code stored in memory, one or morefunctions described herein. The one or more communication interfaces maybe utilized to communicate via a wireless connection to UAV 202.

Second network communicator 226 may be an SoC or other hardware devicethat enables communication via a second network channel to an accesspoint. In one embodiment, second network communicator 226 may enabledevice 204 to communicate with an access point. In one embodiment,device 204 may connect with UAV 202 over a first network channel andconnect with an access point over a second network channel. In such anembodiment, the first and second network channel may be the same networkchannel or different network channels. For example, the first networkchannel may be a WiFi channel and the second network channel may be a 4Gchannel.

FIG. 3 depicts a first regional map 300 in accordance with one moreembodiments described herein. Regional map 300 comprises mobile device302, and regions 304-310. Mobile device 302 may provide networkcongestion services to one or more of regions 304-310. Each of regions304-310 may be serviced by one or more access points. For example, eachdevice in region 304 may be served by the same access point(s). Theaccess point(s) enable the devices to connect to the Internet (oranother network) via one or more network channels. However, as depictedin FIG. 3, whenever too many devices occupy the same region (i.e. region304), network connection may occur. Network congestion may occur becausetoo many devices attempt to concurrently connect to the same accesspoint(s). In order to relieve network congestion, mobile device 302 maybe deployed to areas where network congestion is determined.

As shown in FIG. 3, mobile device 302 is deployed to region 304. Region304 may be experiencing higher than usual network connection due to thenumber of devices within the region. When mobile device 302 is present,one or more devices within region 304 may connect to mobile device 302via a first network channel, such as 4G or WiFi. Mobile device 302 maythen connect to one or more access point(s) (which may or may not beexclusive to region 304) and transmit data from the one or more devicesto the one or more access point(s). For example, one or more userdevices within region 304 may connect to mobile device 302, which mayrelieve the access point(s) servicing region 304. Then mobile device 302may, via a direct line of sight connection, transmit data to an accesspoint servicing a less congested area (e.g., 306). Thus, devices inregion 304 may be provided increased speed and data reliability becausethey are no longer directly connecting with overloaded access point(s)serving region 304. Instead, via mobile device 302, one or more deviceswithin region 304 may be connected to under loaded access point(s).

In one embodiment, mobile device 302 may connect to an access pointserving the same region where mobile device 302 is located. For example,one or more devices within region 304 may connect to mobile device 302,and mobile device 302 may connect to access point(s) serving region 304.Such an embodiment, may be utilized, for example, when there arenumerous environmental or structural obstructions between devices and anaccess point. For example, region 304 may comprise of many mountains orbuilding, which may impact the SNR of data transmissions between one ormore devices and one or more access points. To relieve such an issue,mobile device 302 may be deployed to be located in close proximity todevices within region 304. For example, mobile device 302 may be locatedthousands of feet overhead of one or more devices in region 304. Byhovering a couple of thousand feet overhead noise may be reduced becausedata transmissions will have to traverse less obstructions (e.g.,building and mountains). Once data is received by mobile device 302,then mobile device may then transmit the data to an access point.However, because mobile device 302 may be located overhead, it may havea direct line of sight to an access point. By having a direct line ofsight to an access point signal loss may be reduced in transmissionbecause there are no objects to cause interference. As a result, mobiledevice 302 may provide increased data speed and reliability by creatinga shorter data path to devices and a direct line of sight data path toan access point.

FIG. 4 depicts a second regional map 400 in accordance with one moreembodiments described herein. Regional map 400 comprises mobile device302, and regions 304-310. Mobile device 302 may provide networkcongestion services to one or more of regions 304-310. Each of regions304-310 may be serviced by one or more access points. For example, eachdevice in region 306 may be served by the same access point(s). Theaccess point(s) enable the devices to connect to the Internet (oranother network) via one or more network channels. As depicted in FIG.4, a plurality of devices, from FIG. 3 have congregated from region 304to region 306. Such a scenario may occur when, for example, there isvehicle traffic on an interstate and a plurality of cars or cell phoneswithin those cars moves together. In such a scenario, mobile device 302may move with the devices to relieve congestion in region 306. Thus, anadvantage to providing network congestion relief via mobile device 302,is mobile device 302's ability to be dynamically located as needed.Mobile device 302 is capable of providing mobile network congestionrelief as it may move in synchronization with device movement such astraffic or crowds walking.

FIG. 5 illustrates example process 500 in accordance with one or moreembodiments described herein. One or more portions of process 500 may beperformed by a backend system and/or a UAV. For example, one or moreportions of process 500 may be performed by backend system 104 asdepicted in FIG. 1.

At block 505, a backend system receives a triggering event. The backendsystem may receive data from one or more data sources and determine atriggering event based on the received data. A data source may includeone or more devices connected to an access point, one or more accesspoints, a UAV, and the like. A data source may transmit data indicatingnetwork conditions. Network conditions may be measured against priornetwork conditions. For example, an access point serving a particularregion may indicate how many concurrent network connection it hasreceived within a particular period of time. The backend system maycompare the number of received concurrent network connections to priorconcurrent network connections for a similar time period. If the numberof received concurrent network connections exceeds a thresholdassociated with prior concurrent network connections for a similar timeperiod, a triggering event may occur. The triggering event may indicatenetwork congestion in a particular location.

A triggering event may be based on a number of concurrent networkconnections for one or more access point(s), a number of devices in aparticular area, a particular time of day, bandwidth required andavailable within a certain location (e.g., if bandwidth falls below acertain threshold), data throughput needs of devices, scheduled events(e.g., sporting events, parades, civic events, tower maintenance ormalfunctions, etc.) and the like. The triggering event may differ fordifferent locations. For example, a triggering event for region A may beif bandwidth falls below a first threshold, but the triggering event forregion B may be if bandwidth falls below a second threshold, where thefirst and second thresholds are distinct.

At block 510, the backend system determines a location associated withthe triggering event. The location associated with the triggering eventmay be determined based on location data associated with one or moredata sources. For example, the location may be determined based on GPSdata associated with a plurality of devices connected to an accesspoint. In another example, the location may be determined based on apreviously known location of one or more access points. In oneembodiment, the location may be determined based on triangulation datafrom a plurality of access points serving different regions. Forexample, the triggering event may be located at a location that overlapswith multiple regions. In such an example, a backend system may receivetriangulation data from the access point(s) serving the multiple regionsto determine the exact or relative location associated with thetriggering event.

At block 515, the backend system determines one or more characteristicsof the triggering event. The backend system may determine acharacteristic based on received data from one or more data source. Acharacteristic may define one or more properties that may be needed by aUAV to be deployed to a particular location. For example, acharacteristic may indicate that devices within a certain region are 4Gdevices, 5G devices, and/or WiFi devices. Because different networkchannels may require different connection hardware (e.g.,radios/antennas) it may be useful to know, before deploying a UAV, theproper connection hardware for a particular location. For example, afirst UAV type may be fitted with 4G antennas, a second UAV type may befitted with 5G antennas, and a third UAV type may be fitted with WiFiantennas.

At block 520, the backend system deploys one or more UAVs to thelocation associated with the triggering event. In one embodiment, one ormore UAVs may be docked at a location associated with the backend systemand the backend system may transmit location data, such as GPS data, tothe one or more UAVs. The location data may indicate a locationassociated with a determined triggering event. In one embodiment, one ormore UAVs may be already deployed at a first location and receivelocation data associated with a second location. The second location maybe the location associated with a triggering event. The backend systemmay transmit new location data to one or more UAVs based on locationsassociated with determined triggering events, such that the one or moreUAVs may be dynamically located where triggering events occur.

At block 525, the backend system receives, from a deployed UAV, networkcongestion information. Once deployed to a location, the UAV maytransmit to the backend system network congestion information indicatingthe status of network connections. Network congestion information mayinclude a number of concurrent network connections for one or moreaccess point(s), a number of concurrent network connections to thedeployed UAV, a number of devices in a particular area, a particulartime of day, bandwidth within a certain location being provided by theUAV, bandwidth within the certain location being provided by one or moreaccess point(s) and the like. The backend system may determine, based onnetwork congestion information, if the deployed UAV device iseffectively relieving network congestion. For example, if at a firsttime, there are 200 concurrent network connections to the deployed UAVand then, at a second time, there are 50 concurrent network connectionsto the deployed UAV, then the backend system may determine that thedeployed UAV is no longer effectively relieving network congestion inthat particular location. In response, the backend system may send newlocation data to the deployed UAV to cause the deployed UAV to move to anew location.

FIG. 6 illustrates example process 600 in accordance with one or moreembodiments described herein. One or more portions of process 600 may beperformed by a backend system and/or a UAV. For example, one or moreportions of process 600 may be performed by mobile device 102 asdepicted in FIG. 1.

At block 605, a UAV receives location data associated with a location.The location may be a location associated with a triggering event. Thetriggering event may indicate that there is network congestion at thelocation. In one embodiment, a backend system may determine such atriggering event and in response, transmit to the UAV location data.Once the UAV receives location data, the UAV may travel to the locationassociated with the location data for a particular period of time. Forexample, the UAV may hover over or dock at the location until the UAVreceives updated location data.

At block 610, the UAV receives, from a plurality of devices, connectionrequests. The connection requests may be associated with one or morenetwork connections. For example, a connection request may be to connectto a 4G, 5G, or WiFi network. In one embodiment, a device may attempt toconnect to an access point first and then if the request is denied or istimed out, then the device may attempt to connect to the UAV. In oneembodiment, the UAV may push, to the plurality of devices, a connectioninvitation to indicate to the plurality of devices that the UAV mayprovide a network connection. In response to the connection invitation,one or more of the plurality of devices may establish a connection tothe UAV.

At block 615, the UAV establishes a connection between a first accesspoint and a first device of the plurality of devices. The connection maybe a connection via a particular network channel. For example, theconnection may be the 4G connection. The first access point may be anaccess point that is under loaded, is within a different region than thefirst device, or is within the same region than the first device. TheUAV may be located in closer proximity to the first device than thefirst access point. The UAV may also have a direct line of sight to thefirst access point. The UAV may act as a network bridge/repeater byreceiving data packets from the first device and forwarding the receiveddata packets to the first access point. The UAV may then receive datapackets from the first access point and then forward the received datapackets to the first device.

At block 620, the UAV transmits network congestion information to abackend system. Once deployed to a location, the UAV may transmit to thebackend system network congestion information indicating the status ofnetwork connections. Network congestion information may include a numberof concurrent network connections for one or more access point(s), anumber of concurrent network connections to the UAV, a number of devicesin a particular area, a particular time of day, bandwidth within acertain location being provided by the UAV, bandwidth within the certainlocation being provided by one or more access point(s) and the like. Thebackend system may determine, based on network congestion information,if the UAV device is effectively relieving network congestion. Forexample, a backend system may determine a second UAV may need to bedeployed to the location in order to provide additional networkcongestion relief. In another example, a backend system may determine asecond UAV may need to be deployed to the location in order to provide asecond network channel for the location.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a computer system that may beincorporated as part of a mobile device and/or the backend system. Acomputer system as illustrated in FIG. 7 may be incorporated as part ofthe previously described computerized devices, such as mobile device102, and/or backend system 104. FIG. 7 provides a schematic illustrationof one embodiment of a computer system 700 that can perform varioussteps of the methods provided by various embodiments. It should be notedthat FIG. 7 is meant only to provide a generalized illustration ofvarious components, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate.FIG. 7, therefore, broadly illustrates how individual system elementsmay be implemented in a relatively separated or relatively moreintegrated manner.

The computer system 700 is shown comprising hardware elements that canbe electrically coupled via a bus 705 (or may otherwise be incommunication). The hardware elements may include one or more processors710, including without limitation one or more general-purpose processorsand/or one or more special-purpose processors (such as digital signalprocessing chips, graphics acceleration processors, video decoders,and/or the like); one or more input devices 715, which can includewithout limitation a mouse, a touchscreen, keyboard, remote control,and/or the like; and one or more output devices 720, which can includewithout limitation a display device, a printer, etc.

The computer system 700 may further include (and/or be in communicationwith) one or more non-transitory storage devices 725, which cancomprise, without limitation, local and/or network accessible storage,and/or can include, without limitation, a disk drive, a drive array, anoptical storage device, a solid-state storage device, such as a solidstate drive (“SSD”), random access memory (“RAM”), and/or a read-onlymemory (“ROM”), which can be programmable, flash-updateable and/or thelike. Such storage devices may be configured to implement anyappropriate data stores, including without limitation, various filesystems, database structures, and/or the like.

The computer system 700 might also include a communications subsystem730, which can include without limitation a modem, a network card(wireless or wired), an infrared communication device, a wirelesscommunication device, and/or a chipset (such as a Bluetooth™ device,BLE, an 802.15.4 device, a WiFi device, a cellular communication device,etc.), and/or the like. The communications subsystem 730 may permit datato be exchanged with a network (such as the network described below, toname one example), other computer systems, and/or any other devicesdescribed herein. In many embodiments, the computer system 700 willfurther comprise a working memory 735, which can include a RAM or ROMdevice, as described above.

The computer system 700 also can comprise software elements, shown asbeing currently located within the working memory 735, including anoperating system 740, device drivers, executable libraries, and/or othercode, such as one or more application programs 745, which may comprisecomputer programs provided by various embodiments, and/or may bedesigned to implement methods, and/or configure systems, provided byother embodiments, as described herein. Merely by way of example, one ormore procedures described with respect to the method(s) discussed abovemight be implemented as code and/or instructions executable by acomputer (and/or a processor within a computer); in an aspect, then,such code and/or instructions can be used to configure and/or adapt ageneral purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or moreoperations in accordance with the described methods.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be stored on anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as thenon-transitory storage device(s) 725 described above. In some cases, thestorage medium might be incorporated within a computer system, such ascomputer system 700. In other embodiments, the storage medium might beseparate from a computer system (e.g., a removable medium, such as acompact disc), and/or provided in an installation package, such that thestorage medium can be used to program, configure, and/or adapt a generalpurpose computer with the instructions/code stored thereon. Theseinstructions might take the form of executable code, which is executableby the computer system 700 and/or might take the form of source and/orinstallable code, which, upon compilation and/or installation on thecomputer system 700 (e.g., using any of a variety of generally availablecompilers, installation programs, compression/decompression utilities,etc.), then takes the form of executable code.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantialvariations may be made in accordance with specific requirements. Forexample, customized hardware might also be used, and/or particularelements might be implemented in hardware, software (including portablesoftware, such as applets, etc.), or both. Further, connection to othercomputing devices such as network input/output devices may be employed.

As mentioned above, in one aspect, some embodiments may employ acomputer system (such as the computer system 700) to perform methods inaccordance with various embodiments of the invention. According to a setof embodiments, some or all of the procedures of such methods areperformed by the computer system 700 in response to processor 710executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions (which mightbe incorporated into the operating system 740 and/or other code, such asan application program 745) contained in the working memory 735. Suchinstructions may be read into the working memory 735 from anothercomputer-readable medium, such as one or more of the non-transitorystorage device(s) 725. Merely by way of example, execution of thesequences of instructions contained in the working memory 735 mightcause the processor(s) 710 to perform one or more procedures of themethods described herein.

The terms “machine-readable medium,” “computer-readable storage medium”and “computer-readable medium,” as used herein, refer to any medium thatparticipates in providing data that causes a machine to operate in aspecific fashion. These mediums may be non-transitory. In an embodimentimplemented using the computer system 700, various computer-readablemedia might be involved in providing instructions/code to processor(s)710 for execution and/or might be used to store and/or carry suchinstructions/code. In many implementations, a computer-readable mediumis a physical and/or tangible storage medium. Such a medium may take theform of a non-volatile media or volatile media. Non-volatile mediainclude, for example, optical and/or magnetic disks, such as thenon-transitory storage device(s) 725. Volatile media include, withoutlimitation, dynamic memory, such as the working memory 735.

Common forms of physical and/or tangible computer-readable mediainclude, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk,magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, any other opticalmedium, any other physical medium with patterns of marks, a RAM, a PROM,EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any othermedium from which a computer can read instructions and/or code.

Various forms of computer-readable media may be involved in carrying oneor more sequences of one or more instructions to the processor(s) 710for execution. Merely by way of example, the instructions may initiallybe carried on a magnetic disk and/or optical disc of a remote computer.A remote computer might load the instructions into its dynamic memoryand send the instructions as signals over a transmission medium to bereceived and/or executed by the computer system 700.

The communications subsystem 730 (and/or components thereof) generallywill receive signals, and the bus 705 then might carry the signals(and/or the data, instructions, etc. carried by the signals) to theworking memory 735, from which the processor(s) 710 retrieves andexecutes the instructions. The instructions received by the workingmemory 735 may optionally be stored on a non-transitory storage device725 either before or after execution by the processor(s) 710.

It should further be understood that the components of computer system700 can be distributed across a network. For example, some processingmay be performed in one location using a first processor while otherprocessing may be performed by another processor remote from the firstprocessor. Other components of computer system 700 may be similarlydistributed. As such, computer system 700 may be interpreted as adistributed computing system that performs processing in multiplelocations. In some instances, computer system 700 may be interpreted asa single computing device, such as a distinct laptop, desktop computer,or the like, depending on the context.

The methods, systems, and devices discussed above are examples. Variousconfigurations may omit, substitute, or add various procedures orcomponents as appropriate. For instance, in alternative configurations,the methods may be performed in an order different from that described,and/or various stages may be added, omitted, and/or combined. Also,features described with respect to certain configurations may becombined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elementsof the configurations may be combined in a similar manner. Also,technology evolves and, thus, many of the elements are examples and donot limit the scope of the disclosure or claims.

Specific details are given in the description to provide a thoroughunderstanding of example configurations (including implementations).However, configurations may be practiced without these specific details.For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, andtechniques have been shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoidobscuring the configurations. This description provides exampleconfigurations only, and does not limit the scope, applicability, orconfigurations of the claims. Rather, the preceding description of theconfigurations will provide those skilled in the art with an enablingdescription for implementing described techniques. Various changes maybe made in the function and arrangement of elements without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the disclosure.

Also, configurations may be described as a process which is depicted asa flow diagram or block diagram. Although each may describe theoperations as a sequential process, many of the operations can beperformed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of theoperations may be rearranged. A process may have additional steps notincluded in the figure. Furthermore, examples of the methods may beimplemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode,hardware description languages, or any combination thereof. Whenimplemented in software, firmware, middleware, or microcode, the programcode or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in anon-transitory computer-readable medium such as a storage medium.Processors may perform the described tasks.

Having described several example configurations, various modifications,alternative constructions, and equivalents may be used without departingfrom the spirit of the disclosure. For example, the above elements maybe components of a larger system, wherein other rules may takeprecedence over or otherwise modify the application of the invention.Also, a number of steps may be undertaken before, during, or after theabove elements are considered.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for managing network channels, themethod comprising: receiving, at a backend system, data from one or moredata sources; determining, based at least in part on the data receivedfrom the one or more data sources, a triggering event and a locationrelated to the triggering event; transmitting, to an unmanned aerialvehicle (UAV), first location data associated with the location relatedto the triggering event; receiving, from the UAV, network congestioninformation associated with a connection between one or more devices andthe UAV; relaying, by the UAV, data between the one or more devices anda first network access point; and transmitting, based at least in parton the network congestion information, second location data to the UAV,wherein the first location data and second location data indicate twodistinct locations.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more datasources comprises a second network access point servicing a region. 3.The method of claim 2, wherein the second network access point providesa broadband cellular connection to the region.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the data from one or more data sources comprises a number ofconcurrent network connections for a data source of the one or more datasources, a number of devices in a particular area, current bandwidthassociated with or required by a data source of the one or more datasources, or data throughput needs of a data source of the one or moredata sources.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the triggering event isdetermined at least in part on a number of concurrent networkconnections for a data source of the one or more data sources.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the second location data is associated with asecond triggering event.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein networkcongestion information comprises a number of concurrent networkconnections for one or more data sources of a plurality of data sources,a number of concurrent network connections to the UAV, a number ofdevices in a particular area, or a particular time of day.
 8. A systemfor managing network channels, the system comprising: an unmanned aerialvehicle (UAV) that relays wireless communications between one or moredevices and a first network access point (AP); and a backend serversystem that communicates with the UAV, the backend server systemconfigured to: determine, based at least in part on the data receivedfrom the one or more data sources, a triggering event and a locationrelated to the triggering event; transmit, to an unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV), first location data associated with the location related to thetriggering event; receive, from the UAV, network congestion informationassociated with a connection between the one or more devices and theUAV; and transmit, based at least in part on the network congestioninformation, second location data to the UAV, wherein the first locationdata and second location data indicate two distinct locations.
 9. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein the one or more data sources comprises asecond access point servicing a region.
 10. The system of claim 9,wherein the second access point provides a broadband cellular connectionto the region.
 11. The system of claim 8, wherein the data from one ormore data sources is selected from the group consisting of: a number ofconcurrent network connections for a data source of the one or more datasources; a number of devices in a particular area; a current bandwidthassociated with a data source of the one or more data sources; and adata throughput need of a data source of the one or more data sources.12. The system of claim 8, wherein the triggering event is determined atleast in part on a number of concurrent network connections for a datasource of the one or more data sources.
 13. The system of claim 8,wherein the second location data is associated with a second triggeringevent.
 14. The system of claim 8, wherein network congestion informationcomprises information selected from the group consisting of: a number ofconcurrent network connections for one or more data sources of aplurality of data sources, a number of concurrent network connections tothe UAV, a number of devices in a particular area, and a particular timeof day.
 15. A non-transitory processor-readable medium, comprisingprocessor-readable instructions configured to cause one or moreprocessors to: receive data from one or more data sources; determine,based at least in part on the data received from the one or more datasources, a triggering event and a location related to the triggeringevent; cause first location data associated with the location related tothe triggering event to be transmitted to an unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV); process network congestion information received from the UAV thatis associated with a connection between one or more devices and the UAV;and cause second location data to be transmitted to the UAV based atleast in part on the network congestion information, wherein the firstlocation data and second location data indicate two distinct locations.16. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 15, whereinthe one or more data sources comprises an access point servicing aregion.
 17. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 16,wherein the access point provides a broadband cellular connection to theregion.
 18. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 15,wherein the data from one or more data sources is selected from thegroup consisting of: a number of concurrent network connections for adata source of the one or more data sources; a number of devices in aparticular area; a current bandwidth associated with a data source ofthe one or more data sources; and a data throughput need of a datasource of the one or more data sources.
 19. The non-transitoryprocessor-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the triggering event isdetermined at least in part on a number of concurrent networkconnections for a data source of the one or more data sources.
 20. Thenon-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the secondlocation data is associated with a second triggering event.